The Map, By Colette Baron-Reid

Colette Baron-Reid wins the prize, in my estimation, for having some of the best self-help books available. Her book, The Map, had the greatest impact on my life by far. I call myself the “Self-Help Queen.” In my early years of attempting to fix all that was wrong with me, I bought books that were more psychologically inclined. As I aged, I found these types of books were missing something. I began to explore books by spiritual gurus like Shakti Gawain, Don Miguel Ruiz, Eckhart Tolle, Wayne Dyer and Louise Hay. They got closer to what my heart was seeking, but in them, too, there was something lacking. The Map combined spirituality with psychology and hit the mark for what was missing in my opinion.

Thirteen years ago, my sister, Debbie, was diagnosed with a terminal illness. A part of me was dying with her. I took time off from work to care for her ailing body. My body, mind and spirit were broken. I knew I needed deep healing. At this point in my life, I had a large library of spiritual and self-help books, but they didn’t “help.” Then, I discovered The Map at a local bookstore and decided to give it a try. When I wasn’t looking after my sister, I spent time working with the teachings and follow up activities in this book. It was a long process with many big shifts in my thinking. I always knew there was some greater force beyond what the eyes could see. I had many experiences that mostly terrified me. However, working with The Map, I was better able to understand and develop a relationship with this higher power.

Colette’s book is inspired by the work of Carl Jung and uses mystical landscapes and beings to help the reader journey through the difficult landscape of one’s mind. Like most self-help books that I have encountered through the years, The Map requires full participation. So, with journal in hand, I began the process of diving deep into my psyche. Using the metaphor of a map and magical imaginary creatures while performing visualization meditations, I was able to distance myself from painful events and look at them anew. I could safely explore traumatic experiences and their resulting habituations and negative thinking. Colette asks us to explore these paralysing feelings by viewing them as “goblins.” Rather than avoiding the dark material, she takes us through a meditative process where we can look at the feelings as a creature that was created in those moments to help us survive the event. The goblins stay to protect us from future trauma. Basically, they are the negative self talk and avoidance habits that once helped us to navigate difficult times but are no longer helpful in present day. We are invited to make friends with them and gently tell them they are no longer needed.

I felt a bit ridiculous doing the guided meditations where we were instructed to meet the Goblin and give it a name and a birthday. However, I was quite blown away by the result. I was working on the emotion of “fear.” In my imagination I saw a tiny little goblin wearing a pink tutu with fuzzy yellow hair. I asked her name, “Finderstitch,” was her reply. “And when were you born?” was my follow-up question. She answered quite quickly, “March 26, 1968.” I was then directed in the meditation’s script to hold the goblin in my arms and thank it for coming to me at a difficult time. I then told it I no longer need its help. I was thinking it all very odd, but I went with it. The next thing I know, I am remembering the time when my older sister, Wanda, was messing about with mom’s Singer Sewing Machine and almost cut off the top of her finger. There was a lot of yelling and name calling by my father, before she was rushed to hospital for stitches. I would have been three at the time. The chaos that ensued would have been traumatic for a child of this age. The fact that the Goblin called itself Finderstitch and Wanda’s finger required stitches made me realize the power of using the imagery to delve into the subconscious mind. After this experience, I was able to release some of the fearful thoughts I have had. I was hooked! I continued working on various emotions, which I was able to release. I learned to make peace with my shadows and encourage a more positive inner dialogue.

The book also shows how to make a purposeful life map for the future in collaboration with spirit. Developing clear authentic goals is crucial. If you are wishy washy about where you want to be in life, you will be forced to wander the wastelands and never reach the destination you desire. Colette teaches how to use imaginary creatures, such as the Gentle Gardner to help us metaphorically pull weeds of the past and plant seeds of the future. We cultivate our deepest dreams while acknowledging and releasing old thought patterns and habits that hold us back. The Wizard of Awareness also helps us to see things in our lives more clearly by asking us to question our reality.

The Map worked for me, because I am highly imaginative. I worked with extremely debilitating traumas from a distance, so to speak. In this way, I could quiet the negative self-talk born out of traumatic events. Not only that, but I was also able to see my life as a journey and one that I could direct. It helped me to release a victim mentality and replace it with empowering thoughts and habits. The most important thing about this work was that I realized I am not alone. There are guides and higher powers that are readily available if I am willing to open my heart and mind to them. I have continued with my journey and have discovered many other fabulous teachers. One of the most significant factors in my life to date is meditation, which was reestablished through using the scripts offered in The Map.